Avoiding Disaster Before It Strikes

It has been a bad winterand now, with the end ofthe El Niño cycle, hurricaneprognosticators are warningof an above-average hurricaneseason.

Forecasters predict eighthurricanes will form in the Caribbeanthis season, with fourof them potentially Category 3or greater storms. (Category-3hurricanes are rated at windsof 111 to 130 miles per hour.)

What does this mean forcable system operators? It’stime to review business-continuityand disaster-recoveryplans. It’s also time to makearrangements to ensure yourcustomer-care strategy hasthe potential to shield youfrom the storm.

How do you plan to offer uninterruptedservice to your subscriberswhen your contactcenter may be without power,lack communications or be inaccessibleto your employees?Businesses that have the abilityto off er complete customer-careoptions on even the darkest dayshave the potential to leave customerswith a feeling of goodwillthat never dims.

As cable operators have consolidatedinto regional servicecenters, they may have madethemselves more vulnerable tonatural disasters. While largercenters tend to be more costeffectiveand efficient thansmaller operations, they alsoprovide a larger, single point offailure in the event of a disaster.

Regardless of the weather (orother situation), however, subscriberseverywhere still wantto be able to reach a live agentwhen they need to order newservices, have a question on abill or need help trouble-shooting.By failing to answer calls duringdisruptions, operators risklosing valuable subscribers totheir competition.

The country has experiencedabove-average erratic weatherand unforeseen natural disastersin the last two years — recordsnow storms, torrentialrains and even an April 2008earthquake in Illinois. How dooperators cost-effectively planfor unpredictable Mother Natureto maintain uninterruptedcontact with their subscribers?

Many companies now viewhome-based, outsourced customercare as a viable option. Infact, more than 2,000 at-homeagents support cable MSOslike Comcast, Cox Communicationsand Time Warner Cable.Why? These agents providehigh-quality service and are notin one centralized location thatcould get knocked offline.

Home-based agents are veteransin call center operationsand are trained in specific industries.Outsourced virtualcall centers hire experiencedworkers from across the U.S.and are not limited by geographicproximity to a physicalcall center.

Additionally, research suggeststhat home-based agentstend to be more experiencedand mature, and deliver betterperformance statistics than peoplewho work in brick-and-mortarlocations. They may even beyour local customer!

Here’s a real-world exampleof customer-centric disasterresponse: A Fortune 500financial services companyfound its Houston call centerthreatened by Hurricane Ikein September 2008. The companyhad to shut down thecall center for the duration ofthe disaster and knew that itscenters in other states wouldnot be able to handle the expectedcall volume.

The firm needed not justmore bodies to man thephones, but workers who hadin-depth knowledge of itsbrand, systems and financialproducts.

Less than 24 hours beforelandfall, when it becameclear that Ike’s path wouldpass through Houston, thecompany moved to supplementits customer serviceworkforce temporarily. Withinhours, home-based agentshad beefed up the agent poolby 22%.

While call volume was twicethat of a normal weekend, withthe assistance of home-basedworkers, the organization wasable to handle the additionalvolume and preserve its customerrelationships.

Businesses would do well tolive by the Boy Scouts’ motto:Be prepared. Don’t waitfor disaster to strike; qualitycustomer service is essentialeven when the sun is shiningand there isn’t a cloud on thehorizon.